Coming Home to Parañaque
I’m sure that there are different levels of loyalty for each hometown. For example, Italians who live in Rome aren’t simply called Italians. They must be called Romans. Many cities in the world have their own unique flavor. If you don’t believe me, try walking down Manhattan and see how many New Yorkers are proud of their identity.
In the same way, I am proud of my roots. I live in the city of Parañaque, and while it isn’t as artistic a place as, say, Paris or Milan, I would rather live here than anywhere else. Maybe I am biased, but my loyalty to this place surpasses my loyalty to any other place.
There are practical reasons for this strange attachment. I have lived here all thirty years of my life. I have seen it change from a sleepy, almost countryside town into a bustling city. In the distant past, Parañaque was a fishing community. Its proximity to the shorelines of Laguna de Bay made it as such. I often try to imagine those images in my head – a fisherman’s town, with fish being dried under the sun, right on the sidestreets, for miles at a stretch.
Of course, because I was born in 1979, that scene was no longer a reality for the municipality of Parañaque. I do remember it as a pretty serene place, still far removed from the major city it is today. Our subdivision then had very few houses, and ours was one of the first on our street. We had two or three next-door neighbors, but it wasn’t very lonely. My father’s friends lived in the same subdivision, and there were frequent gatherings between family and friends during certain times of the year.
During the 90s, though, that trend began to change, as did much of the world. Parañaque was officially and legally recognized as a city, not as the municipality it once was. The main road, Dr. A. Santos Avenue, was widened to accommodate the growing number of vehicles which caused perennial traffic problems. From two lanes, it was widened to four lanes, with an island placed in the middle. For long-time Parañaque citizens, this was quite a change and a relief, because roads didn’t have to bottleneck now that they were wider.
As a city, we have seen our share of disappointments. No city in the world is perfect, and Parañaque is no exception. However, I would more readily raise my children in this city than in any other. While we have not achieved the status of New York or Paris or Makati, we are a city in every way, and coming home to this city is something I will always look forward to at the end of each day.
